Shisei no Koe: Voice of the Tattoo
by Don'txCryxOut
Summary: Chapter Three Now Complete! The plot thickens when Rei meets up with Kei, a folklorist who has a few tips on what the hell is going on!
1. Chapter 1: Yuu

**SHisEI no KOe**

CHapTEr ONe

She ran; she ran as fast as she could. The raspy breathing of the ghost woman behind her grew increasingly closer, "Just a little farther…" she gasped, running out of breathe. Her legs were becoming heavier and heavier, her vision blurred…The door seemed so far, yet so close. Extending her arm she felt the decaying wood of the door, but she also felt an icy coldness along her shoulder… Sitting up, she clutched her shoulder then pain seared through it like a thousand tiny needles pricking at her flesh. She cried out in pain and looked to see why her arm was aching so intensely, but before she could look she heard a small knock at her door.

"Rei-chan?" she heard the young woman ask peeking into her room, "Are you alright…?" Rei nodded. The pain in her shoulder had ebbed away now.

"I'll be down in a minute, Miku." The woman blinked and left the room. Rei sat on her bed for a couple of seconds; she contemplated what she had dreamt, "Was it…just a dream?" Rei though pulling a shirt over her head, "Or was it real…" She pushed the thoughts from her head and walked down stairs, where Miku was waiting with a small package.

"Rei, here, it appears to be addressed to Yuu…" she almost whispered the name for fear of hurting Rei. Instead, Rei just stood, holding the package she read who it was from out loud, "Kei Amakura…I think I've heard this name before." Slowly, she opened the package, inside was a letter about research and something about a camera.

"The _Camera Obscura_," wondered Rei, "could it be the same camera as from my dream?" Miku could read the look on Rei's face, "Perhaps it's time you faced the truth…" She watched as Rei's eyes filled with pain, Miku knew she was remembering that fateful night.

"It's been raining ever since……" Rei drifted off toward the stairs, lost in thought, she kept repeating incomplete phrases like, 'It's my fault...', 'It would have different if he was driving…' and 'Why?' Miku sighed and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Meanwhile, Rei had made it to the end of the hall; her hand shook violently as she lowered it toward the doorknob.

"Miku's right…I need to face the truth, he's gone." She warily turned the knob and entered the room. It was eerily dark and several boxes stood in the various corners. Rei swallowed hard and looked around, as she inched toward his work station she could have sworn she saw Yuu, "Rei, can I help you?" she heard him say.

"Oh, I was just—"She stopped in mid sentence, "He's gone, never forget that." She scolded herself for a moment and looked over to a shelf; on the shelf were many different kinds of radios. Rei ran her fingers across them, taking in the details through her sense of touch, tracing the radios she eventually came to the top of the shelf. There sat the item she had actually come in the room for.

"Obscura…" She muttered under her breathe. Suddenly the door opened, "Ummm, Rei, dinner's ready." Miku said standing in the door way. Startled, Rei tripped backwards as she tumbled downward, Rei realized she had stopped falling. Miku started, shock covered her face.

"What's happening?" Rei said hovering above the floor. Miku searched desperately for words, but only stutters slipped from her mouth. Confused and frightened, Rei began trying to fight the mysterious force that was holding her, but to no avail the presence wouldn't let go. The thing lifted Rei to her feet and vanished, Rei looked around. Her eyes landed on Miku, whose face was very pale.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked, walking toward her. Miku finally stuttered three words, "It was Yuu…."


	2. Chapter 2: Mafuyu

ChApTeR tWo

Rei looked shocked. She couldn't quite grasp Miku's words, _It was Yuu?_ She thought when it finally struck her she knew what Miku meant.

"H-his ghost?" She inquired warily. Miku nodded barely, "I saw him as clear as day." Rei stumbled over to the bed, collapsing completely when she reached it. Miku rushed to her side, "Are you alright? Maybe I shouldn't have told you that…" She shook her head weakly. Her eyes stared blankly into Miku's, wisps of ebony hair drifted across her face. Miku closed her eyes and sighed quietly, she knew Rei was devastated about losing her fiancé, and now that she knew he hadn't moved on to the other side she was probably more heartbroken. Opening her eyes she heard Rei mumbling softly, Miku could only make out some of the words she heard the words: "Sleep, Rite of Stakes, and Open wide…" Miku turned around and quietly left Yuu's room.

"Uhg, why am I so tired?" She questioned, leaning against a wall for support. "Maybe I should rest…" Miku walked to her room, staying close to the wall, just in case. She saw Ruri sitting by her door and smirked; turning the handle to her door she entered. Barley making it to her bed Miku collapsed like Rei did.

"Mafuyu…" She murmured before drifting of into a peaceful slumber.

XXXX

_Rei was standing outside the strange manor again. "_Not this dream again."_ Rei said softly, inching up the steps. Pushing against the mold, gross door she found herself once again inside the manor. An overwhelming presence loomed in the air, Rei gasped, the miasma was suffocating her. _

_"_I need to get out of here…"_ She choked. Forcing herself to walk she looked at all the decaying shelves that lined the hall, the light of her flash light shined on something in one of the drawers. Investigating the glowing object she found it was a bottle of old pills. The sound of little feet running caught her attention, but when she looked up she saw no one. Creeping forward, Rei peeked around the corner and saw nothing, continuing slowly she saw someone in front of her, "_Miku?!_" She called going after her assistant. Her mind was racing, she was wondering why Miku was in the manor with her. The sound of a door opening and closing was all Rei heard, for when she rounded the next corner, Miku was gone, but Rei wouldn't give up. She followed her companion through the door._

_"_Miku!"_ Rei was stunned, the room was incredibly large and she could see almost everywhere, but yet again Miku was nowhere to be found. Leaning against the door Rei tried not to cry. The horrors of this mansion were killing her, she was sure of it and the snake-like bruise that the topless woman gave her was extremely painful. The sound of yet another door opening stirred her from her thoughts. The sound of the stairs creaking caused Rei to panic and hide. So she did, under the stairs. The being coming down the stairs was an apparition; he appeared to be a young man with ebony hair and a white collared shirt. "_Who?_" Before she could finish her sentence, another set of footsteps echoed through the large room and the sound of a girl's voice. _

"Brother! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you! Brother, wait, please!"_ Rei gasped, she now knew why Miku was inside that manor, "_She lost her brother… Just like I lost Yuu._" She came out of hiding and ran after Miku, she reached out her hand in an attempted to grab her, but she only felt the soft fabric of the back of Miku's shirt, but with just that small amount of contact Rei saw things no one should ever have to see._

**Miku stood in a small room in the center was a large clock-looking device on the weird contraption was a young woman in a white kimono, she cried out as five men began to turn cogwheels, the maiden was attached to the wheels by ropes, the ropes tightened around the five limps of the girl. Her head, her arms, and her legs. The ropes pulled and tightened until the limbs were torn from the body. Blood covered the walls and device.**

"What in God's name…_" Rei stuttered stumbling backwards onto the ground. She knew she was going to be emotional scarred for life. "_What the hell was that?_" Rei stood up and continued to follow Miku and her brother's ghost. She trailed after them until she reached a small courtyard with a huge tree in the middle, around the tree were straw dolls impaled on wooden poles. The tree was giving off a strange aura, Rei walked toward the tree._

_"_How strange…_" She murmured staring at it for a moment, that was until she heard the sound of the door opening behind her and a woman's voice saying eerily, "_I don't want to see…anymore."


	3. Chapter 3: Kei

**Chapter Three: Kei**

_Rei's eyes widened. She spun around to face her nemesis, just inches apart the woman breathed softly. Swallowing a lump in her throat Rei began to back up only to find herself pinned to the tree. The apparition reached out and wrapped her hand around Rei's slender, pale neck. Rei gasped for air as the woman squeezed tightly, suffocating her. With ease and grace the ghost lifted Rei off her feet, holding her a few feet in the air she squeezed harder. The iciness of the woman's hand added to the affect of drowning._

"S-stop…please." _Rei pleaded, a small tear rolling down her cheek. The ghost's eyes narrowed, the holly and snake tattoo etched intricately in them. With a large amount of force the ghost threw her across the room. Rei flipped through air breaking through the decaying railing and slamming into the hard cool wall. She slumped to the ground, looking up she saw the woman looking at the tree, but then she looked past the tree toward the door. Rei turned her head slowly with great pain, she saw the door had many seals on it and chains. Little did she know though this viewing would be a prelude to a nightmare…a nightmare of insanity. The apparition walked straight through the tree and into the door. Rei gave a small sigh of relief and hung her head, passing out. As she sat there unconscious she began to dream, though this was no ordinary dream. It was a dream within a dream. Rei dreamt of the days when Yuu was alive, the joy she felt. The warm happy days that held nothing but endless joy and abundant happiness. But everything abruptly ended when Yuu died. All the glitter drained from Rei's eyes and she became_ _rather emotionless_.

"Hey...are you al...right?"_ She thought she heard someone ask. Begin aroused from her slumber Rei looked around somewhat disoriented. Suddenly, a burning pain shot through her shoulder like a hot blade ripping through her flesh, she rocked back and forth holding her shoulder. Digging her nails into her skin she tried to dull the pain, blood slowly began to ooze because she had dug so deep._

"Hey! Hey! You're hurting yourself." _She heard a man shouting. As quickly as it came her pain vanished. She looked over and saw a young man with black hair and deep hazel eyes. "Who are you?" Rei inquired. He looked at her and extended his offering to help her up. _

"I'm Kei. Kei Amakura." _Rei took his hand gratefully, _"I'm Rei Kurosawa." _She gave a weak smile and looked back at the door she had seen the ghost go through. Kei followed her gaze, when he saw the door he nodded._

"So, this **is** the Manor of Sleep…" _He remarked softly. _

"The burial place for the legendary "Priestesses" and the awakened Priestess…Reika." _Rei looked at him perhaps that was the woman that attacked her. She shook her head, without saying anything she walked slowly toward the door with the seals._

"What are the Priestesses and who is Reika?" _Rei asked running her fingers across the wood. She felt a twinge in her shoulder from where she had dug her nails in. _

"The Priestess where said to be sacrifices, according to the folklore at least. Their bodies were tattooed with holly and snakes. Each one symbolizes something different. Anyway, when their bodies were full they were taken to an ancient temple and pinned down with stakes. This was to ensure that the Priestess slept for all eternity and that the "Rift would not awaken." _Kei explained clearly. Rei was a little impressed, but he had failed to answer her second question. _

"I see, but who is Reika?" _She asked again turning around. Kei sighed and walked over to her._

"Reika was a Priestess. She was tattooed and laid to rest in the temple, but for some reason her ritual failed and thus the "Rift" awakened and the village was engulfed into the darkness and Reika's nightmares." _Rei nodded, she now understood why Reika was so violent. This was now a little less of a nightmare, it was now a mission to solve the mystery of Reika's failed ritual and save herself from begin destroyed by the tattoo. _

"So…that means Reika is the tattoo's voice." _Kei eyed Rei with a quizzical glimmer in his eye. _

"She is out for revenge, all the pain she feels. The tattoo has possessed her, she is merely the voice of the tattoo." _Kei now understood her logic and nodded. _

"Then we best be finding some clues to solving this mystery." _Rei shook her head, _"Not without Miku."


End file.
